Lake Louise in Banff National Park, Canada

Who has not heard of the famous Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada?

Beside Moraine Lake, Lake Louise is one of the most famous lakes in Banff National Park. It is a glacial lake, which get its turquoise colour of the water coming from rock flour carried into the lake by melt walter from the glaciers around the lake.

As it is one of the most famous places in the Canadian rockies, it is busy all year round. In summer you have a lot of hiking trails and you can rent a canoe on Lake Louise and in winter the lake is a big ice skating pist.

Be sure to be super early in the morning at Lake Louise or either later in the evening. Everything in between is very crowded.

Fairmont Château Lake Louise

At the Eastern shore of the lake is the famous Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, which was initially built by the railway at the end of the 19th century. Unfortunately, the Rattenbury Wing was destroyed in 1924 by a fire and was replaced by the current Barrot Wing. The oldest still existing portion of the hotel is the Painter Wing, which was built in 1913 and the most recent wing is the Mount Temple Wing opened in 2004.

Initially, the hotel was built to be used in summer, but then winterized in 1982 and therefore also a magic place for all the winter activities like skiing, ice skating etc.

Mirror Lake

If you want to hike to Lake Agnes, be sure to make a quick stop at Mirror Lake. The lake got its name because you can see the reflection of Big Beehive in the lake.

If you want to eat near Mirror Lake, pay attention on the squirrels. It is quite hard not to feed them when they literarely climb in your face!

Little Beehive

The Big Beehive and the Little Beehive are also mountains near Lake Louise and also very popular hikes. If you don’t want to hike the Big Beehive, do at least the Little Beehive. You will have an amazing view on Big Beehive and of course also on Lake Louise with the Chateau. You  can even spot Mirror Lake and Lake Agnes.

Lake Agnes Tea House

The Lake Agnes Tea House is a small teahouse at an elevation of 2.135 meters, which was built already in 1901 shelter for hikers. It was named after Lady Agnes MacDonald, the wife of Canada’s first Prime Minister, In 1886, she visited Lake Agnes and was amazed by the idyllic lake near Lake Louise. The Lake Agnes Tea House has been called the oldest teahouse in Canada. In 1981, the teahouse was completely rebuilt as seen today.

Lake Agnes with its tea house is 7 km away from Lake Louise. You need about 2 hours to get there (one way). It is still a very famous stop for hikers, which makes it always crowded and it is very difficult to get a seat inside the teahouse. You can get various types of teas, baked goods and lunch things. The teahouse don’t have running water and electricity. Everything has to be transported by the staff, by horse or even by helicopter.

Lake Louise Gondola

The Lake Louise Gondola lifts will take you at the top of 2.088 metres elevation with an amazing view over Lake Louise and Victoria Glacier. Besides the views, there is also an extensive network of hiking trails for all ability levels.

If you are lucky enough, you can spot wildlife during the ride in the Gondola.

What about you? Have you ever visited Lake Louise?

Read next: Top 10 things to do in Banff National Park, Canada